Suns Big Three Arrive in NOLA
Suns vs Pelicans Spreads, Matchup and More
Suns vs Pelicans spreads opened at Pelicans +1 with a total of 224.5.
Zion Williamson and the playoff-bound New Orleans Pelicans will be hosting Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and the Suns on Monday in an NBA Western Conference Battle.
Both teams are 6-4 in their last ten games, the Pelicans will look to cement their spot outside the Play-In Tournament, while the Suns will continue their fight to get outside of Play-In seeding. These teams only sit three games apart in the loss column (Suns currently are the seventh seed, and Pelicans are currently the fifth) and could meet again in May in the NBA playoffs bracket.
The Pelicans have found their stride since the all-star break, and have ascended to the second-ranked defense in the league over that span. The Suns, who haven’t had a top-ten offense or defense this season, have now just cracked the top-ten offensive rating since the all-star break. The Pelicans stifling defense will look to bump them back down on Monday.
We will examine Suns vs. Pelicans spreads, NBA betting lines, and past matchups to see if we can find an edge in Monday’s game.
Phoenix Suns (43-31) at New Orleans Pelicans (45-29) 
Date, time:
Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
Suns Need a Booker Bounce-Back
The Phoenix Suns’ playoff hopes are in jeopardy after a blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. Despite Kevin Durant’s 26 points, the Suns fell 128-103, dropping them dangerously close to the Play-In Tournament zone. The Suns struggled offensively, with Bradley Beal at 15 points and Devin Booker at just 14. The Suns will need their second and third step up big on Monday if they have hopes of besting the Pelicans.
It seems like the Suns are still trying to figure out their scoring balance, but all-star Devin Booker only scoring 14 points in an important conference matchup is simply inexcusable. After scoring 30 or more in three straight games, Booker followed things up with a 17-point game and his 14 points on Friday.
Booker’s big scoring games in the last five games came against weak opponents like the Spurs and Hawks, and he failed to reach 20 points against the strong defenses of Denver and the Thunder. The Pelican’s defensive prowess could be a reason to look at the under on the points prop for Booker, but his past performances against the Pels say something else.
The last time the Pelicans and Suns played, Devin Booker exploded for a season-high 52 points, his second 50-point game against the Pelicans in a row.
McCollum Back to Balling
CJ McCollum has taken a step back this season. For the first time since 2014, he is averaging under 20 points per game, but he has stepped up as an important veteran leader on the Pelicans’ winning squad. Recently, however, he has been forced to return to his higher usage past in the absence of his 20.9 points per game scoring teammate, Brandon Ingram.
McCollum has been increasing his points and assists numbers in the five games since Ingram went down.
McCollum has notched no less than 28 points and assists combined in the last five games, and we expect his offensive load to continue against Phoenix’s mid-tier defense.
Although he has yet to find much efficiency on offense in the last five games, he is getting up shots and touching the ball more than enough to hit his lines (he’s shot 23 or more shots in his last three games). This indicates to us that unless oddsmakers greatly adjust his points and assists prop, he is likely to hit it again on Monday.
CJ McCollum hits his 14,000th career point against the Celtics 🙌pic.twitter.com/CXDRklQecK
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 30, 2024
Pelicans Want Redemption
Suns vs Pelicans spreads opened at Pelicans -1 with a total of 224.5. The Pelicans being slightly favored at home makes sense, given their play this season, but their last game against the Suns is reason to have hope for Suns fans. That being said, the Pelicans are a better team at the moment, and when they are playing at home, we give them the edge on Monday.
These teams have gone 8-2 for the over in their last ten matchups, and the Suns have a slight edge in winning and covering in six of the last ten. Phoenix has been trending, hitting the over as of late, and the Pelicans have been trending under. This one really could go either way.
Suns vs Pelicans Spreads
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